The wind was strong out of the north and it had pushed the tide way out, but there really weren't a lot of gulls or shorebirds. We're entering into the time of year when beaches have the least bird diversity and lowest numbers of the year--just in time for Christmas Bird Counts.
Offshore, the seas were laying flat in the wind. I had hoped that rougher seas offshore would bring ducks closer to the shore, but there weren't many dots bobbing on the Gulf waters. We eventually found a flock of scaup, a few Red-breasted Mergansers, and a nice flock of scoters. At first we spotted 8 Black Scoters, but as we tracked them diving and following the current, 2 Surf Scoters joined them and 2 scoters flew by and kept going. Hopefully it will be a nice scoter year.
We didn't do much woodland birding for several reasons. Mostly, we realized we'd run out of time if we did, and we were hoping to drive Rutherford Beach before the day ended. Given the dark overcast, daylight had started late and would end early. We did decide to try Lighthouse Road because I wanted to see some sparrows and the habitat there seemed like it might be right. Lighthouse had a little bit of action, enough to make it fun. There were a few sparrows: White-crowned, White-throated, Savannah, Song, Swamp, and 1 Lincoln's. It was good to see those birds, but otherwise there wasn't a lot in the woods.
The mudflats of the Sabine were exposed and there were hundreds of shorebirds working them. It was especially nice to see dozens of Marbled Godwits.
As we headed back east along Holly Beach, we started seeing more hawks. Red-tailed Hawk numbers aren't as high as they've been in recent years, but some of that might be the result of an increase in predator numbers as the coast recovers from the hurricanes of the past decade. In the aftermath of those storms, land predators disappeared and rodent numbers skyrocketed. For a year or two, a birder could see dozens of rats in a day, often feeding fearlessly in the open. Land animals such as coyotes and bobcats took a few years to recolonize, but aerial hunters were able to fly in enjoy the banquet, and they did. Counts of over a hundred Red-tails were possible along the highway from Cameron to the Texas line for a few years. Now that coyote and bobcats have returned, rodent numbers have reached equilibrium and hawk numbers are back to normal.
We generally make it a point to get a good look at every hawk we see, because we know it's possible for an oddball to be hidden in the mix. On the road back, though, it was, "Red-tail," "Red-tail," "Red-tail..." As we neared the village of Holly Beach, we saw 2 Red-tails circling low. As we got closer, we saw another hawk atop a power pole that turned out to be the object of the Red-tails' scorn. The bird was clearly larger than the redtails, but by the time we'd pulled over and come to a stop, we were even with the bird and looking up its rear end, not the best view for an ID. We could see a solid brown back and a whitish head, and as I backed up, we were both pretty sure a better view would show us a Ferruginous Hawk.
Sure enough. Ferruginous Hawks are birds of the Interior West that are rare in Louisiana but have been recorded with increasing regularity in the past few years. These are large hawks, but despite their size, they're incredibly graceful on the wing. This bird put on a show for us, hovering and diving to earth, flying back to the pole, then repeating the whole show. Needless to say, we appreciated it. It reminded me in turn of an eagle, a kite, and a harrier.
After a while, the hawk took a dive and stayed on the ground out of sight, so we got back on the road. We hit the ferry just as it was arriving, and had a nice flock of terns to pick through looking for different birds. Most were Forster's Terns, but we did see a couple of Common Terns. Although some of the Forster's Terns are showing speckled dark crowns connecting their black eye patches at this time, the Commons showed a more solid black crown. An easier mark to spot was the dark bar along the front top edge of their wings.
The rest of the day was largely uneventful. We visited Rutherford Beach, but it was already growing dim and there wasn't much to see.
It was a good day. Without many stops we managed 99 species for Cameron Parish and saw some interesting stuff. The highlight was definitely the raptor show. In addition to the Ferruginous Hawk, we had Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, and Crested Caracara. An even dozen. Not bad for a harsh, windy day.
P.S. Forgive any errors--I'm watching the Saints and typing between plays. Jimmy Graham! First down!
No comments:
Post a Comment